British Prime Minister
Theresa May says the country’s decision to leave the European Union will
not affect ties with EU partners, calling for a stronger cooperation.
May
made the remarks at a joint press conference with her Italian
counterpart, Matteo Renzi, at Villa Doria Pamphilj in Rome on Wednesday.
“TheUK is leaving the EU, but we will continue to strengthen ties with our
European friends. Outside of the EU, the UK and Italy will continue to
cooperate through NATO, the G20 and the G7,” said the British premier.

Italian
Prime Minister Matteo Renzi and British Prime Minister Theresa May
leave at the end of their press conference in the garden of Villa Doria
Pamphili after a meeting in Rome on July 27, 2016.

She added that the UK “will continue to be a strong voice for international free trade.”
Renzi said Britons’ decision to leave the bloc during a referendum on June 23 served as a blow to 600,000 Italians living there.
According to May, their rights will only be respected if the rights of Britons in other EU countries are guaranteed.

“Italian
and other EU citizens who are living in the UK – I want to be able to
guarantee their rights in the UK. I expect to be able to do that. I
intend to be able to do that, to guarantee their rights. The only
circumstances when that would not be possible would be if the rights of
British citizens living in other EU member states were not guaranteed.
But, I hope this is an issue that we can address early on.”

The
British prime minister asserted that she looked at EU ties “with an
open mind,” suggesting she would adopt a utilitarian approach in
cooperation with Europe.
“I think we should be developing the
model that suits the United Kingdom and the European Union, not adopting
necessarily a model that is on the shelf already but saying what is
going to work for the UK and what is going to work best for the European
Union.”
In regard to Brexit, Renzi said a “clear timeline” was
necessary to launch Article 50, which will formally begin the exit
process.
May, however, reiterated for Brexit to be implemented
more time is need so that all parties could work out the “nature of our
relationship”.